When I read the words in Ahmad’s Jameson’s Rhetoric of Otherness and the ‘National Allegory’. The first thing comes to my mind is the dissatisfaction and sadness from third world countries and the terrible racial discrimination.
Fredric Jameson has very, very strong sympathy for third world literature, which is both a theoretical standpoint and an ethical standpoint. A common accusation is that what he mentioned in his speech “Third World Literature in the Era of Transnational Capitalism” seems to be an arbitrary thinking-treating the non-Western as a whole. But, in any case, Jameson is sincere, because his first concern is still the “Western” literary form and social state-how to imagine a kind of literature that reintegrates the individual and the society under the current capitalist conditions? In other words, this kind of overall thinking is not produced for the purpose of strengthening the overall itself but for getting out of the overall.
The allegory writing pointed out by Jameson can be regarded as a combination of satire and symbolism. However, Jameson did not grasp the two writing methods equally. The so-called “the allegorical nature of the third world culture, when telling a story about a person and individual experience, it ultimately includes a difficult narration of the experience of the entire collective itself” is a symbol. It can be found that the fable here refers to a certain kind of realism. What Jameson found in the third world literature was also a “historical nightmare.” Symbols, or national parables, have revived the state of the union of history itself and the individual, and this union was cut off at some point in the West.
In summary, literature from third-world countries wants to gain status, and people in third-world countries want to gain status in the world. This is inseparable from the continuous hard work of the people of their own countries, and the world’s tolerance and understanding of them. Let clan discrimination stop flourishing.
Works Cited
Fredric Jameson, “Third-World Literature in the Era of Multinational Capitalism”
Social Text, No. 15 (Autumn, 1986), pp. 65-88, Duke University Press, http://www.jstor.org/stable/466493 .
Me not reading a lot of third world literature before starting this class, I can understand what you are saying, and can agree with the racial discrimination and overall dissatisfaction. Third world literature should come to light more to bring the attention to other countries but in a better way. Not as one sided or giving vague description to mostly get the point across.
I understand what you said about reading a third world literature because I think there is a misunderstanding because of Western media and how it visualizes third world countries and the real fact is countries are thriving and industrial. The narrations are many and we cannot generalize just one in literature or that would be a fallacy to all writers who want to be noticed and want their certain stories heard.
It is a tragedy that just because a literary work doesn’t come from a place held in high regard that it shouldn’t be legitimized. Literature isn’t written to make you feel good all the time and disregard when it doesn’t. It’s written to elicit emotion, to draw a picture using words. I think people misrepresent what happens in these areas of the world because it happens so far away and isn’t their problem. But, we all struggle and we all have our own problems to deal with that it baffles me that we have the audacity to illegitimize others’. We as people don’t get to just write off emotions on paper just because we cannot see them.
I completely agree that it is the first world’s “clan discrimination” that is limiting the work of third world authors. I want to add my own personal take to this. I see it as though white, first world people view themselves on top of a pedestal of work that reaffirms their values. anything that offers a new perspective or a new set of values looks like a threat to those eager to maintain their positions in the world order, as depressing as that is.
The observation about how Jameson’s writing is not trying to improve the condition of the overall but rather escape the overall is very interesting. Now that you’ve stated this in his writing, I cannot help but see it as well. As someone who has no experience with any literature beyond classic and current first-world literature, I had no idea how this type of literature completely disregards the viewpoint of those in third-world countries and how they are under-represented in literature and the world.
I really enjoyed your point of view on this literary piece. I actually never thought of it that way, where you said Jameson is actually trying to avoid the overall. Now that I read your comment it actually makes sense, yes, Jameson is sympathetic in his regard with the third world literature, but he also is trying to evade the question at hand. Why is third world literature disregarded so much?
Your view on this really made me understand the reading that much further. I had no idea what I truly don’t know about third world literature, most of my focus has mostly been on Westernized culture and their media.
I think you make a lot of good points talking about Jameson’s writings and his view on “third world” countries. I really thought you helped give me a better understanding when you talk about Jameson being sincere but not helping to contribute to the “third world” allegory. This shows when you talk about his first concern being “Western” literacy.
I have to agree with your point about escaping the condition rather than trying to improve it. I have never thought of it in this way, however, I also haven’t been exposed to too much third world literature. I think you bring up a good point that I would have not initially thought of.
Having a lot of family that lives in Mexico I have experienced what you mention in your summary about people in third world countries wanting to gain status and working very hard in their lives to do so for them and their families.
I like a lot of the points you made regarding Jameson’s views on “Third world” countries. I liked how you pointed out that although Jameson is trying to be sincere he is not doing anything to actually support “third world” literature, and not actually focus on why “third world” literature is not valued as much. By him doing this he helps to push the narrative that “Western” literacy is the main concern, when we should focus on the opposite.
I know this may sound naive but I had not put much thought into where literature comes from until joining this course. The books, stories, articles, etc. that I read or hear about mostly come from first world countries. Fredrick Jameson seems supportive of their literature but is not actually doing anything to actually support them. What do you think are some ways that we, college students in America, can support third world country literature?
I can understand how people and literature from the third world want to gain status, but the harsh reality is that in order to do so, they must have the power to influence. The people with power are the only ones who are able to influence others, which is the reason why first world literature seems more significant. I think this third world literature being less mainstream is just a product of its environment and if the third world countries were brought up economically, it’d have a positive impact on the influence of their literature.
I think you make a lot of interesting points talking about the works of Jameson and his outlook on countries of the “third world.” I always felt that when you wrote about Jameson being sincere, but not helping to add to the allegory of the “third world,” you encouraged me to better understand.